INA-GRM: Groupe de Recherches Musicales

INA-GRM

INA-GRM (Institut National Audiovisuel, Groupe de Recherches Musicales) GRM- a Paris studio formed by Pierre Schaeffer in 1951 to foster and encourage the development of electronic music, later assisted by François Bayle, who headed its director in 1966. GRM incorporated with INA (another branch of the Office de Radio Television Francaise) in 1974. --http://www.furious.com/perfect/ohm/inagrm.html [Aug 2004]

Key dates

 First appearance of the term musique concrète
in Pierre Schaeffer's Journal de recherche.

20 June

 Pierre Schaeffer's Concert de bruits was given
its very first performance on the radio. Radio Paris, Club d'Essai.

3 October

 First private performance using record players and
a loudspeaker. Paris, Studio Devèze

195018 March

 First concert of musique concrète, Paris, Auditorium
of the Ecole Normale de Musique. First performance of Symphonie pour
un homme seul by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry.

1951

 Creation of the phonogène à coulisse and the
phonogène chromatique.
 First sound projection using spatial relief.
 First Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète - GRMC.

1952

 Timbre Durées by Olivier Messiaen:
the first work using division of space, realised on a three-deck tape recorder
by Pierre Henry.

1953

 First "Décade internationale de musique expérimentale"
organised by the Groupe de Recherche de Musique Concrète de la
Radiodiffusion Télévision Française at Unesco
 First opéra concret performed at Donaueschingen :
Orphée 53 by Pierre Schaeffer and Pierre Henry

1954

 Déserts by Edgar Varèse :
the first time an orchestra and "organised sounds" on tape were
brought together ; Théâtre des Champs Élysées,
Paris, conductor Hermann Scherchen.

1955

 Première of Maurice Béjart's ballet
Symphonie pour un homme seul, to the music of the same name by Pierre
Henry ; Ballets de l'Étoile, Théâtre de l'Étoile,
Paris.

1958

 Designation of the Groupe de Recherches Musicales
- GRM

1960

 Creation of the Service de la Recherche de la Radiodiffusion
Télévision Française, of which the GRM became a part.
 The GRM settled in at the Studio in the rue de l'Université.

1961

 A full-scale course organised by the GRM and directed
by Pierre Schaeffer et Luc Ferrari.

1965

 The Service de la Recherche de l'ORTF moved to
the Centre Bourdan in the rue du Recteur Poincaré, Paris ; the
new digital synthesis studios of the GRM were at the same address.

1966

 Publication of Pierre Schaeffer's Traité des Objets
Musicaux.
 The term acousmatique was first used in that work.

1968

 A class devoted to "electroacoustic" composition
and musical research was opened at the Paris Conservatoire.
The professors were Pierre Schaeffer, then Guy Reibel.

1973

 Creation of an "orchestra of sound projectors" :
the Acousmonium. François Bayle's L'Expérience Acoustique
was presented at the inaugural performance.

 Creation of the Institut National Audiovisuel (INA)
of which the Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM) became a part as the Département
de Recherche et de Création Musicales. The Maison de Radio France
(Broadcasting House) became its home.

1978

 Production of a series of LPs: INA Collection GRM,
followed by a budget series : Série Gramme
(over 30 references and many important record awards up till 1985).

 First CD of contemporary music pressed in France -the
Concert Imaginaire- the first in a series of CDs devoted to musique
acousmatique (many national and international awards, almost 50 references
in 1997).

Pompidou Centre/Ircam/GRM co-production : Music of the 50s, a series
of 12 concerts.
 Tools for the generation and control of MIDI events were developed
using the MAX programme at the IRCAM (S. de Laubier).
 Concerts to mark the 30, 40 ans le GRM. - Théâtre
National de Chaillot, Salle O. Messiaen.

1989

 First Concours International de Composition Acousmatique
L. Petitot at the Centre Noroit in Arras.

1990

 Presentation at the MIM (Marseille) and demonstration of transcriptions
of musique acousmatique on the Acousmographe, a tool for graphic representation
of sound.
 GRM Tools, the creative processing of sound material: software
for the transformation and synthesis of sound in real time (H. Vinet).

1993

 Inauguration of the Acousmathèque, a "library"
containing over 5,000 tapes including 1,500 works composed by over 200
composers since 1948.
 First of the monthly Empreintes (D. Teruggi). First annual
research seminar (F. Delalande).

1994
1997

 First and second Forum Electro-CD (1994 and 1996).
 Emmanuel Favreau joined the GRM and launched the new GRM Tools
(Editor's Choice Winner 1997).
 First interactive CD-Rom : Les Musicographies (D. Besson),
co-produced by the Festival des 38èmes Rugissants.
 Selection of works by the GRM presented in the Hector music
programme produced by Radio France (satellite channel).